Jacques Dutronc (born April 28, 1943 in Paris) is a French singer, composer… Read Full Bio ↴Jacques Dutronc (born April 28, 1943 in Paris) is a French singer, composer, and actor. He is married to the singer Françoise Hardy, as of March 30, 1974, with whom he had already had a son (Thomas Dutronc, born 1973).

Between 1963 and 1964, Dutronc was the guitarist for a group called El Toro et les Cyclones who recorded several EPs. During this time he could frequently be seen on stage at the Golf Drouot as backing guitarist for stars like Eddy Mitchell. He then went and did his obligatory military service. After his return he landed a job as assistant at Vogue Records to Artistic Director Jacques Wolfsohn. In this capacity he arranged songs (there is no indication that he wrote the lyrics for any of these songs) for several lesser known artists like Zou Zou and CLeo. In 1966 (or maybe the end of 1965), he was teamed with writer Jacques Lanzmann, then director at Lui magazine, to create songs for artists who were arranged to be the next big thing. Benjamin was the first of these singers. But his first EP did horribly and he was unceremoniously booted from Vogue. One day after hearing the demos that Dutronc had made of a song, Wolfsohn declared that Jacques should do the record for release. "Et moi, et moi, et moi" was unleashed on the world in 1966 and overnight one of France's biggest stars was born.
With Lanzmann in charge of the lyrics and Dutronc taking care of the music, the two created some of the most lasting songs in French pop history. There is almost no French person alive who does not know "Et moi, et moi, et moi", "Les Playboys", and "Le cactus". Other great songs include "Mini, mini, mini", "Le responsable", "J'ai un tigre dans ma guitare", and "L'opportuniste". The music on most of these songs is a British garage sound and Dutronc has often been compared to Ray Davies of The Kinks, and that comparison works musically as well. What really set Dutronc apart from the other singers of the time was his parody. His songs are not celebrating the "youth generation" but mocking it. Dutronc's biggest hit was the beautiful "Il est cinq heures, Paris s'eveille", with the classical flute player Roger Bourdin (not as some had thought Jean-Pierre Rampal) performing an essential part. In this song, Dutronc manages to paint a remarkably correct picture of the French capital in the early morning hours in the late 1960's.
Dutronc's "La fille du père Noël" and David Bowie's "Jean Genie" share a riff likely derived from the Yardbirds' accelerated version of Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man." The Belgian singer Arno recorded a medley of the Dutronc and Bowie songs ("Jean Baltazaarr") with the American singer Beverly Jo Scott that makes clear their similarities.
In 1973, Dutronc began a second career as an actor in the film Antoine et Sébastien, directed by Jean-Marie Périer, a career that would afterward occupy the greater share of his attention. Directors for whom he has worked include Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Lelouch and Maurice Pialat. He has also returned to recording in recent years.
Also in 1973, "Et moi, et moi, et moi" was adapted with English lyrics by Ray Dorset, leader of Mungo Jerry. "Alright Alright Alright" became a UK No. 3 hit for the group.
Interestingly, the early Dutronc songs usually had a classic late-sixties freakbeat backing (provided by session musicians) that has managed to win Jacques Dutronc a new audience in the hip retro clubs of the UK and USA in the late 1990s, and this continues today. (Ironically, most of the people who will be dancing to the likes of "Le Cactus" will have no idea what the words actually mean). Because of this, he is celebrated in the 1997 Cornershop song "Brimful of Asha" thus: "Jacques Dutronc and the Bolan Boogie/The Heavy Hitters and the Chichi music."
He currently lives in the town of Monticello on the island of Corsica.

La Métaphore
Jacques Dutronc Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Si tu étais comme une herbe
Je serais mauvaise herbe
Contre toi je viendrais
Toute ma vie j'en vivrais

Si tu étais comme la terre
Je serais terre-à-terre
Je t'ensemençerais

Je te récolterais

Laisse-moi encore rêver
J'ai besoin d'imaginer
Est-tu la fille, l'enfant du mouvement
Viens je t'en prie mon âme est sur les dents

Si tu étais comme une feuille
Je serais portefeuille
Et je te serrerais
Dans mon petit carnet

Si tu étais comme le sable
Je ramasserais tout le sable
Chez moi je l'emporterais
Doucement le tamiserais

refrain

Si tu étais comme un arbre
Je m'en irais d'arbre en arbre
J'irais enlacer tes hanches
Sous le couvert de tes branches

Si tu étais comme une femme
Je te ferais fleur fuie âme
Je te ferais pierre de sable
Je te ferais mèche terre femme

refrain

Si tu étais comme une femme
Plus jamais j'aurais de femme

Laisse-moi plutôt rêver
J'ai besoin d'imaginer

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Jacques Dutronc's "La Métaphore" are a poetic representation of desire and longing. The singer imagines scenarios in which they are intimately connected to their desired one, exploring the various metaphors that could encapsulate their love. The first stanza talks about how if their love interest was like an herb, they would want to be the bad weed next to them, living their whole life next to them. The second stanza envisions the singer as being grounded and practical, ready to sow the seeds of love and harvest it when the time is right.

The third stanza brings back the dreamy quality of the song, with the singer longing to know if their love interest is the one they have been waiting for, beckoning them to come to their life. The fourth stanza sees the singer wanting to hold onto their love like a leaf in a wallet or pouch. The fifth stanza talks about gathering sand, and taking it home to sift through it, akin to how they would sift through their memories and feelings. The sixth stanza imagines the singer wanting to be close to their love interest in different ways, like a tree with branches stretching out to encompass their partner.

The seventh stanza finds the singer wanting to make their love interest into something transcendent, something spiritual and otherworldly. The final stanza repeats the essence of the third, with the singer asking their love not to be just a dream, but to be real.

La MétaphoreJacques Dutronc Lyrics

La Métaphore
Jacques Dutronc Lyrics